MyDesktopLife

- by Martine Neddam

About

MyDesktopLife is a custom-made software for creating films and animations that play online in a browser. The software allows the user to present a flow of consciousness composed of different layers of images, texts, sounds, and voice that melt into each other. It also makes possible the creation of online narratives by mixing digital content. The system has a unique style of sounds, movements, and text and the goal is to stimulate the development of expressive languages inside a browser.

The inspiration for a new online editing program stems from the Internet’s increasing visual impoverishment in recent years. The individual design of web pages has become extremely limited, because editing programs have become too technical and the code inaccessible. This prevents artists and designers from being able to freely play around with existing possibilities. In this light, the idea of the web being a place for creativity and imagination is in fact limited. The freedom for artistic niches on the Internet was the belief fueling the experiments of the early Net.art period, which is what MyDesktopLife taps into.

MyDesktopLife has two sections: a Content Management System or CMS, and a website section for creating, editing, and publishing the films. Creating films and composing new works inside a browser is possible through a very simple and user-friendly online interface.
This interface is accessible with a user account. User accounts, at this stage, are only available for beta-testers at workshops and events.